


Queen's rule

by ohaiwrites



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Dragon Age Prompt Generator, Drinking, F/F, Female Friendship, Friendship, One Shot, Please Forgive me, ugh my writing skills are rusty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-03
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-28 20:22:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3868558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohaiwrites/pseuds/ohaiwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vivienne and Josephine find themselves dealing with an annoying noble. What seems hard work at first turns to fun and games over drinks. </p><p>There's no smut, sorry. Feel free to read this however you want to, though.</p><p>*slight subtle hinted at sexual harassment, so read with caution*</p>
            </blockquote>





	Queen's rule

"My dearest Madame de Fer! It is _such_ a pleasure to see you again."   
The accent of the noble was heavy, his voice deep and buzzing. A musk of deep mushroom, cold sweat and wine filled the air. She would have recognized that heathen anywhere.  
Vivienne turned around and saw Duke Goslainne walking towards her, arms stretched open, lips darting and forming a wide grin. Behind him came the ambassador, hurrying to keep up with the Duke. Josephine's face was neutral, ever so professional, but the way she carried herself and cletched her hands told Vivienne all she needed to know: Duke Goslainne had stretched her patience thin. _Unsurprisingly so_ , thought Vivienne.

Mimicking a smile, she nodded towards the noble and rose from her couch to greet the man.  
"Duke Goslainne. What an entirely expected surprise" she said flatly as he took her hand and proceeded to kiss it.  
When Vivienne was younger, she had thought him a fool who was not used to the court, but she had later realized he purposely kissed all women's hands, planting wet lips on their skin when the habit was normally to just imitate the gesture. Josephine shot her an apologetic look.

"The duke _insisted_ to visit you" she said, "after we walked the battlements, the garden and the stables, I might add."   
Josephine looked exhausted and annoyed for a second, but gathered herself when Goslainne turned around.   
"Oh my sweet child, it was so dear of you to keep me entertained while the Inquisitor is away. I cannot wait to meet her!"   
_She would plunge her hand into your face should you attempt to kiss it_ , thought the ambassador and smiled.  
"She will return tomorrow. Now, if I may show you to your quarters..."  
"Nonsense! It has been too long. Madame Vivienne, tell me, when was the last time you enjoyed a 20 year old wine de Chalon?"  
"Oh darling, the Inquisition takes good care of me, don't you worry."  
"Ha! It has been long. _Please_. Oh! I have a brandy that is quiet your taste. Let me just-" he turned over the balcony and shouted down the hall -"Lerra! LERRA!" Goslainne shot both ladies a glance. "I will find that elf and make sure we have everything set up to have a few drinks in my quarters. Do me the honor of hosting you both tonight."  
Josephine's professional smile faded, but she managed to get out a stiff "Of course" before the duke hurried off to find his servant. 

"I see you enjoy the duke's company just as much as I used to do."  
Vivienne sighed. "I expect you have some idea as to whisk us off very urgently after the first glass?"  
The ambassador's face fell. She looked outright horrified.  
"I- uhh... might have told the Duke we had the night off..."  
Vivienne's mouth dropped open, but she quickly closed her lips and straightened her posture.  
"Well then. We will endure."  
Josephine wanted to answer, but stopped herself when an older and unfamiliar elf appeared on the top of the stairs. He bowed, said "Duke Goslainne is ready for you", bowed again and left as quickly as he had appeared.

With a long sigh, the ambassador followed. "There goes my bath..."  
"Wait!"  
Vivienne whispered behind her.  
"The Duke is unbearable even without his daily dose of wine, but with it - he is... Let me just say: his behaviour is - as untolerable as it is - ridiculous."   
Memories of balls and informal gatherings came to the Enchanter's mind. Memories she'd rather forget.  
"But as difficult as he is, his tolerance for alcohol is rather... low."  
It was the first time that Josephine smiled genuinely. "Marvellous. I have quite the idea how to handle the Duke then."  
Vivienne nodded, satisfied. Maybe the evening would be shorter than she had worried.

*****

"An antivan tradition? How very interesting!" Goslainne was eager to join in on the antivan drinking game Josephine had mentioned.   
"Well, I am happy to explain the rules to you another time, my lord."  
"No, no! We should play _right away_!"  
Josephine shot Vivienne a look. Hadn't she known better, she would have thought the Enchanter was grinning.   
"Oh, okay... let's see. Each player takes two cards. Everyone puts down one card on the table, face down. On a count of three, all players turn their cards around. Lowest cards must drink."  
" _Marvellous_."   
"My dearest Duke Goslainne, would you be so kind and get the glasses while our ambassador prepares the deck?"  
"Of course!" He ran off to his desk, snatching the glasses and a bottle of brandy. It was just enough time for Josephine to do the trick. The cards were set. With a bit of luck, the Duke would be happily drunk and asleep in no time.

"A seven! Blasted!"  
Goslainne gulped down his glass of brandy and proceeded to fill it anew, spilling half of the liquor on the table. He had lost most of the rounds, and his tongue was loose, his face was red. He was sweating heavily, and Josephine had lost on purpose at least twice now, just to drown out the smell by drinking a shot herself. Vivienne's nose was crinkled, but she looked rather amused.   
"Now now my dear, be careful with that brandy of yours. It must have cost you half your uncle's stables."   
The Duke was so drunk that he didn't even realize the insult. "Nahhh Forro is.. not... that..." He burped, filling the air with a smell of alcohol and something rotten. "..rich."  
"Another round?" suggested Josephine carefully, eyeing the Duke suspiciously. It would not take long now. But Goslainne had already smashed his remaining card on the table. It was a Queen. 

Vivienne bumped Josephine's leg slightly under the table, and Josephine nodded in return. Both of their cards were smaller than his, but their patience was thin now, thinner even than before. The room smelled horribly, the Duke kept touching their knees and arms, and his remarks were growing more inappropriate by the minute.  
"Queen's rule!" shouted Josephine as she dropped her card on the table, Vivienne quickly following her lead.  
"Wha... is. Tha?" mumbled the Duke. Poor soul, he looked so confused.  
Vivienne sounded almost bored: "It means of course, that the player with the Queen has to drink."  
"To honor the Queen" added Josephine.   
And Vivienne concluded after a bit: "That would be you, darling."  
The Duke's eyes were wide, but he grinned and poured down the glass. He hickuped a few times. 

"Oh, what a pity! The bottle is empty." Josephine smiled.  
Goslainne stood up, shaking. "I will.. ge the o'er one..." As he tried to walk over to his desk, he staggered. He obviously had a hard time keeping his balance.   
"My my my", said Vivienne, as she followed him and nudged him to his bed. "You might want to take care of yourself, dear Goslainne."  
He couldn't respond as she weaved a slight spell around him, easing his way to a dreamless sleep.  
"Couldn't you have done that a little bit earlier?" wondered Josephine as she gathered her card deck and stood up.  
"Of course my dear. But where would have been the fun in that?"  
"I apologize. But I was rather looking forward to not working tonight and all I have done so far is entertain this Duke."  
"And me. You entertained me. Greatly." Vivienne looked at her in earnest. Poor ambassador had no idea how long she had held a grudge against the Duke. Seeing him embarass himself all over for two hours was all she ever wished for.  
"Let me repay the favor, dear Josephine. I have a real bottle of wine to die for in my chambers. It would be my pleasure to share it with you."  
"Oh?" Josephine was pleasantly surprised at the offer. She had wished her relationship with Vivienne to be closer than work companions, but it never quite occured to her that the key might be a shared bottle of wine. "I'd love to."

******

Her head was heavy, but Vivienne felt very light the following morning. Josephine - Josie - and she had taken the party to her chambers, and discovered a common taste for flower arrangements, dancing and silk dresses over a few more glasses of fine wine. Both had laughed more than they had expected, and enjoyed each other's company a lot. As she walked to the garden to get some fresh air, Vivienne heard a noble shriek in shock. Remembering something, she chuckled. What had Josie said about parties with her? Ah. Yes. _It is not a real party, until somebody's smallclothes end up pinned to the tavern's board_.   


End file.
